27 May 2014

Evening all.

Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
Because we really don't. Blaming people for being 'other' really isn't a solution to any of your perceived problems. This was their debut single from 1981, off the album Penthouse And Pavement.

Kate Tempest - The Beigeness
The poet and playwright makes her first steps into music. It took me a while to get into this - might be something to do with the accent, which is entirely my issue - but I'm glad I stuck with it as she's clearly got something to say and a new way to say it.

July Talk - Summer Dress
These are from Toronto and this is off a self-titled album which came out last autumn. It bypassed me completely then, but I'm glad it's finally on my radar. This is glorious.

Cover Version Corner
The Monkees/Django Django - The Porpoise Song
Great to have Django Django back on the show. That was their effort for Record Store Day last month. Before that, The Monkees with the theme from the film Head, their ill-fated 1968 cinematic effort. It's a really good film, but flopped at the time given a lack of promotion and a combination of established fans not getting at where they wanted to go and the potential audience they were aiming for having already made up their minds about the band. Worth seeking out.

The Leaf Library - The Greater Good
This is just fabulous. They're from London and this is out on June 7. It's got pretty much everything I want from a single.

The Bamboos - Typhoon
Australian funk from a few years ago. These are from Melbourne and it's off the album 4 which came out in 2010.

Throwing Snow - Avarice
London producer Ross Tones is Throwing Snow. He's had a few releases in the past, but a debut LP is on the way, Mosaic, which this is taken from. Really interesting stuff - lots going on in there. Looking forward to hearing more. That bass....

Kindred Shins - My Resting Piece
Another band with a debut album coming soon - this one is as yet untitled, but due in the summer. Good old rock and roll. Get in.

One Degree of Separation
3D Shark - My Name Is Brian Clough
Dario G - Malaway
The 3D Shark track is taken from an EP called Some Boys Like To Hide Away. He bloody hated Leeds. After that, a track from the 1998 album Sunmachine from Crewe's Dario G, named after long-time Crewe Alexandra boss Dario Gradi. So there's yer link - football managers.

Quirke - Break A Mirrored Leg
This is off an EP which came out just over a week ago called Acid Beth. Eery, atmospheric, moody, and dare I say it, quirky.

Dreadzone - Iron Shirt
Get yer skank on. From their 2005 album Once Upon A Time.

The Egg - Electric City
I keep coming back to the 2012 album Something To Do and it always delivers. It's just a terrific album. This is from said disc.

Jackamo Brown - Lay Low
It's been a while since I last listened to the album Oh No, The Drift Of The World which came out in 2012, but had it on again this last week. It's just lovely. Apparently there's little to no chance of anything else. He's simply not interested in being a professional musician and had to be persuaded to put out the album. So we've got to keep spinning this instead of getting new stuff. Not that that's a bad thing, but also a bit of a shame.

Mr Scruff - Thought To The Meaning
And we'll finish with another track from the new Mr Scruff long-player Friendly Bacteria, again with vocals from Denis Jones. It's a total change of direction and it'll be interesting to see what he does next.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:

20 May 2014

In which I break my Sisters Of Mercy duck...

Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Always nice to hear from Morrissey. This is off a new album of the same name due out on July 15. While he may raise some salient points, I'm not sure he's thought things through. If there are things that require change, I'm not sure that disenfranchising yourself from the process - denying yourself the one vehicle you have at your disposal - is a great way to go about it. We do have elections on Thursday. The Europeans are PR and your vote will count. Do get out and use it if you can, hoof out the extremists we got lumped with last time, on the back of pitiful turnout, and let's be grown up about all this, eh?

The Modern - Industry
This was their debut single from back in 2005 and I'd pretty much forgotten it until I heard it last week. I still like it. No idea if they're even still going.

Movie -Ads
Is that a bit of Devo I can hear in there? Either way, I like it. Something a little different to anything else out there. It's out on Skelly Records and if you're trying to find it, probably best to start there than enter 'movie ads' in Ask Jeeves or whatever your favourite search engine is.

Cover Version Corner
Binary Finary - 1998
Peace - 1998 (Delicious)
First, a trance classic from, unsurprisingly, 1998. They also did a more flowery version a year later. Originality being their strong point, that was called 1999, but I'm not sure it was strictly needed. Second, a version with guitars and lyrics from Birmingham band Peace off their debut EP Delicious. Completely different in almost every way.

Kitten Pyramid - Uh Oh
These are new to me, from Burton on Trent. This came out late last year and I like it a lot. There's plenty going on and doesn't sound too much like anything else. One to keep an eye on.

Bed Rugs - Wave
We've played these before. They're from Belgium and this is another one from late last year.

Lemon Jelly - The Shouty Track
Because it's warm and sunny and Lemon Jelly works on warm, sunny days. This is not in the usual laid-back vein, though. Off the album '64-'95 from 1998.

One Degree of Separation
Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me
Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion
I warned you about Sisters Of Mercy. They were (are?) from Leeds. That's off the album Floodland from 1987. Before that, the ever-lovely Teenage Fanclub. What a splendid band they are. That's off Bandwagonesque from 1991. The link is that they both appeared on the rather splendid soundtrack to the film The World's End which I finally got round to seeing last week. Gloriously silly.

Aim - Cold Water Music
Take it down a notch from Sisters Of Mercy with this, the title track from Aim's 1999 album. Aim is Andrew Turner from Barrow.

Psychemagik - Black Noir Schwarz
I've been after this for a while. It came out in February, but I've only just got my hands on it. Consider that your Tuesday night banger.

Jamie xx - Girl
I have an inherent suspicion of people who refer to themselves by the name of the band that they're in. This is Jamie Smith of the xx with a rather lovely down tempo track. Quite different to the stripped back style of the xx, it shows there's more to him than that.

Mr Scruff ft Denis Jones - Render Me
A new album from Mr Scruff landed yesterday. Friendly Bacteria is the title and it's steering away from the sampling and beats to something more melodic and with vocals too. It's still bloody good though. This is the first release from it. Bang on.

Here's all that on YouTube:



Back with more next week. Enjoy the Bank Holiday.

10 September 2013

Bit of a German theme this week, quite by accident, but we kick off this week's show with something more Gallic.

Melanie Pain - Black Widow
John: That's Pain as in French for bread and she used to sing with Nouvelle Vague. This is off her album 'Bye-Bye Manchester' which came out last year.

Joanna Gruesome - Sugar Crush
John: A five-piece from Cardiff, that's of their debut album 'Weird Sister' which is out today, so you're bang up to date with it.

Wedding Present - Two Bridges
John: New stuff from these! Be excited! They released this last week on their YouTube channel. No word on whether this is a portent for a new album as yet, but we wait with breath duly bated.

Cover Version Corner
John Kongos - He's Gonna Step On You Again
Happy Mondays - Step On
John: One of those where the cover has surpassed the original in many ways. From 1990 that and the album 'Thrills, Pills and Bellyaches', it made it to number five in the charts. Before that, John Kongos from back in 1971. He's from Johannesburg and that made it to number four. Easily his biggest hit.
Carolyn: So it actually did better than the Mondays even though it's - arguably - less well known.
John: He's still recording, apparently. That track is in the Guinness Book of Records as it was the first record to use a sample.
Carolyn: In 1971? Wow.

Roosevelt - Elliot
John: One of the German tracks I promised. Roosevelt is an artist from Koln and other than that, I don't know much about him.
Carolyn: International man of mystery, eh? Are you sure he's doing it right?
John: Well, people are in this game for different ends. Anyway, I really like that. It's off an EP also called 'Elliot' which is out now and follows his debut album of last year which we played something off.

Applescal and Ryan Davies - Creatures
John: We played a track from Applescal, Amsterdam producer Pascal Terstappen that is, a while ago - Spring And Life - which went down really well. Now he's teamed up with Ryan Davies from Germany and produced an EP called 'Creatures' from which this is the lead track.
Carolyn: Sort of dreamy, late-night stuff.


Artichoke Heart Souffle - Don't Forget About Me
John: That's jaunty isn't it.
Carolyn: Very! I like it though.
John: They're a brother and sister act - Brad and Stacy Michaelson from LA - and that's off 'Treble And Bass' which is out now.
Carolyn: I'll be checking that out.

One Degree of Separation
Mr Scruff - Jazz Potato
Hot Chip - Over And Over
John: One of Hot Chip's better known ones, that's from back in 2004 off the album 'Coming On Strong'. Before that, Mr Scruff - Andy Carthy from Macclesfield - from 1997's self-titled album. Potato. Chip. I think you get it...

Seams - Rilo
John: One last German one - sort of. Seams is James Welsh - born in Britain, but based in Berlin - and that comes off the album 'Quarters' which comes out next Monday, the 16th.

Cloud Control - Scar
John: New single from the New South Wales band. This is getting airplay everywhere, but I don't mind giving it a spin too. That's off 'Dream Cave' which was out last month.

And that'll do us for this week. All that's wrapped up in a YouTube playlist here apart from the Applescal and Ryan Davies track which you can find above. We're off next week, bumped for live football commentary, so we're back in a fortnight.

22 April 2013

The usual mix including some stuff I've been waiting to get my hands on for ages.

The Egg - In Your Pocket
John: And here's one of those I've been wanting for ages. This is off the album 'Something To Do' which came out late last year and is flippin' brilliant. I really love this track. It's got a great vibe.
Carolyn: Worth waiting for.

Rift Valley Brothers - Mu Africa
John: An old track given a new release on Soundway Records who specialise in 1970s and '80s East African rarities. These are from Kenya and it's on a compilation called 'Kenya Special'. I like that a lot. I could listen to it a lot. Indeed, I have.
Carolyn: Yeah, I like it.

Opossom - Why Why
John: To New Zealand next and that's Kody Nielson, aka Opossom, who we've had before. That's off 'Electric Hawaii' which came out last year and is dead good.

Cover Version Corner 
Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm
Dutch Uncles - Slave To The Atypical Rhythm
John: We like Dutch Uncles. That's their release for Record Store Day last Saturday, a celebration of the nation's independent record shops. Vinyl Tap on John William Street had a few things on, including Simon Armitage DJing.
Carolyn: I thought he was a poet.
John: Yeah, but he can still play a record then play another one after it.
Carolyn: Don't give away our secrets!
John: Grace Jones released that in 1985, off the album of the same name.

Casual Sex - National Unity
John: From Glasgow, that's a belter.

Savages - She Will
John: An all-girl group from London, that's off 'Silence Yourself' which is out next month.
Carolyn: It doesn't sound like a female voice initially.

Bed Rugs - Blinds
John: To Belgium now, and these are from Antwerp. That's off 'Rapids' which is out about now.
Carolyn: I like the minute-long outro.


Bonobo - Cirrus
John: We've had these before. That's off 'The North Borders' which came out at the start of the month and is a cracker. I think we'll have more of these in the future.
Carolyn: Already planning next week's show?
John: I've got a huge backlog of stuff to get through and these are in it. There just isn't the time to play everything.

Mr Scruff - Fish
John: Something a bit different next. That's from 1999 and the album 'Keep It Unreal'. Mr Scruff is Andy Carthy from Macclesfield, but that's not quite got the same impact.
Carolyn: No, Mr Scruff is definitely better.

One Degree of Separation
Mickey 3D - Johnny Rep
Wedding Present - Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now?
John: I love that Weddoes track. That's off 1987's 'George Best' and there's your link - Best and Rep, two of the finest right-wingers world football has ever seen.

Bibio - Fire Ant
John: Something else a bit different, that's from the 2009 album 'Ambivalence Avenue'. Bibio is Stephen Wilkinson from the West Midlands.
Carolyn: And another long outro.

Manja And The Maytrons - Fabulous Drones
John: From London, that's off the EP 'Wigwam Submersion' which is out now.

Marina And The Diamonds - Hollywood
John: Finish with something a bit cheesy and upbeat. That's Marina Diamandis from Abergavenny and it's off 'The Family Jewels' which came out in 2010.

Here's your YouTube playlist which doesn't have The Egg, Opossom, Casual Sex or Manja And The Maytrons on. Follow the links elsewhere for those tracks.